Sunday, November 13, 2011

Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant

This classic Chinese restaurant is located close to the Seven Corners area of Falls Church, right next door to the Home Depot. Serving traditional Chinese cuisine highlighting seafood specialties, Fortune is also famous on the weekends for its dim sum brunch.

Fortune was the first Chinese restaurant I came to years ago when I first moved to the DC area. I even introduced Keith to this place, and he often comes for lunch or take-out. His favorites are Hunan Chicken, Beef Chow Fun, Pork Lo Mein, and pan-fried dumplings. Although I have been to Fortune many times for lunch or dinner, I had never tried the dim sum - until today. We had to go to Home Depot, so we decided to use the opportunity to eat at Fortune. There was a crowd outside, so I knew the wait would be long, but when I went in to get on the list, the hostess said the wait should be no more than 20 minutes. When our number was finally called, we were escorted towards the back of the enormous dining room. There are no menus, rather you sit and wait for each push cart to come by and you can pick and choose what you want. The options include noodle, rice, or meat dishes as well as the fried or steamed dumplings. Specials such as soups or crepes may also be featured.

This was our first time trying the dim sum here, so we did not hesitate to ask what each cart had and pick whatever peaked our interest. We started with a couple fried options and I was eager to try a steamed dumpling, but the cart never seemed to come by our way. Beware, as most of what we picked was already cold. I noticed a few other tables would call over a waiter and ask for a specific item directly, and then he would run over to the appropriate cart and bring it over -or- they would come directly from the kitchen. Finally, the steamed cart came by and most of what we wanted were all gone, but we got the pork sui mai, which Keith really liked. All in all, the food is quite authentic, the ambience is crowded and adventurous, and the price can't be beat. We had seven dishes for under $30. I prefer the regular dinner menu over this dim sum, yet the idea is fun, different and great for groups. I highly recommend you going earlier rather than later, to not only beat the crowd, but to also guarantee the freshest food.